Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Pours a rich honey color with an small, off-white, head, really more of a film. Retention is phenomenal. Great sheets of lacing.Smell is herbal hops up front followed by some hay, floral and faint malt.Taste is hops, floral and herbaceous, hay, malt (light), and some lipstick (ooh, no) in the background.Medium bodied, light carbonation. Warming after the swallow. Except for the lipstick note lingering on, this is really quite good. (438 characters)

LOOK: Pours a bright copper color with soapy head. There is a moderate chill haze and plenty of lace going down the glass.

SMELL: Hops come in floral in the aroma, along with sweet toffee and caramel malts.

TASTE: An interesting blend of hop and cream ale features, with fair bitterness and orange citrus pairing with a sugary sweetness. The hops and sweetness gives off a flavor that reminds me of melon. Ample bitterness to suit the vanilla like unfermented sugars, the bottle lists the IBU at 34.

FEEL: Medium bodied, well carbonated feel. Finishes more or less clean.

OVERALL: A fresh new angle on a cream ale. The hops worked well with the inherent sweetness and everything worked well together. This is the type of cream ale I could drink a few of. Well done. (800 characters)

Cloudy orange on color. Served with about a quarter to half inch of foamy white head. Good retention. Some light lacing. Aroma is fairly malty, with a mild skunkiness. Taste is rather grainy with a bit of caramel malt in the mix. Some light citrusy hops and a mild soapiness on the finish. Lighter side of medium in body. Appropriate carbonation. Mild bitterness. Mild soapy quality. Have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the style and this one isn't going to change myMind. (517 characters)

A: Soft glowing orange color, not quite copper, with a weeee bit of haze. The finger tall head fell quickly but it was bright and white with tiny little bubbles.

S: Sweet vanilla and bread crust nose with a subtle noble hop aroma.

T: A malty sweet start to this beer with a vanilla vibe along with cream and bread. As the beer chugs along down the tounge a noticable hop flavor comes though making an interesting contrast to the start. The finish is sweet just like the begining.

M: Crisp and clean with a dry finish and low carbonation.

O: This is one of my go to summer beers to bring to a cook out or family gathering. Its an easy drinking beer with enough hop flavor and complexity to make it interesting. (713 characters)

Overall - Not the most inspiring style in the world. And there's not a whole lot about this beer to get excited about. Though the style doesn't necessarily call for it, I expected a bit more hoppiness with a name like Hop Cream. (526 characters)

If you love hops, but are tired of how hops have become so overused as to make many beers off balance, then I suggest trying Hop Cream. I first tried it when it was just an experimental creation that was on tap at Capitol's beer garden. I was hooked on the first sip by the mellow hop flavor and the creamy head. This is one easy drinking GOOD beer. (349 characters)

What folks usually don't know is that early examples of cream ale exhibited a wide range of flavor and feel. The fine folks at Capitol Brewery know this and exploits the crisper, cleaner, and hoppier end of the spectrum than that of the corn riddled lager-like examples.

With its mild haze (presumably from hops), the beer carries a strong straw hue that's brightly golden but not yet amber. The richer look makes me think maibock heading into my first whiff. A cottony white foam floats the beer and is very confident in its retention and lacy adherence.

Grass and grapefruit rise first as the hops dominate the grain in the beer's early aromas. Rustic in nature, the near-stemmy woodish tones over rule the blend of starchy malt, corn, and grain sweetness underneath.

Flavors are more balanced as the grain sweetness latch onto the front of the tongue and give a light coat of crisp bready malts before the hops settle in. But shortly after, the hop flavors of grapefruit rind, orange pith, and citrus oils gain slight command and morph into a grassy, herbal bitterness in finish. The grain taste of "Grapenuts" and cereal reside in support for the light starch and bold hops and add to the sense of crispness and refreshment in finish.

Light to medium-light in body, the grain sweetness is accompanied by rich proteins that hold onto the abundant carbonation deep into finish for a creamy texture. But as the malts and carbonation sharply fall off, what's left is a grassy astringency to accompany hop bitterness as the beer comes to closure. This is the lasting feel that trails quickly for a terse aftertaste and texture.

As the beer lovers will likely agree that the preferred crisper and cleaner versions of cream ale are best. But the flavors here are similar enough to American pale ales to draw these unfair comparisons. These comparisons will leave this hoppy cream ale in slighter celebration and demand. (1,921 characters)

T - A tad more mild than implied by the nose, the earthy pine and floral hop notes come through alongside a bready caramel malt base. The citrus rind notes linger alongside some buttered bread.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and wet.

O - The tastiest of the mixer by far, though it could still use a bit of a flavour boost. I would suggest this as a good brew to suggest to someone who is just beginning to appreciate hops. The hop presence is a nice additive to what is otherwise a pretty mild flavoured brew style. Glad I had the opportunity to try this one. (828 characters)

No bottle dating that I can see.Nice green grassy hop aroma, with an English ale presentation that is enjoyable. Just enough malt to fill out the base.Slightly cloudy golden amber with a smaller, but very creamy and very white head. Drippy lacing throughout the glass. Nice and soft but hop forward flavor. Just a bit of toasty crunch to the malt. Hop flavors match the aroma, with a noticeable but soft bittering and a pleasing lingering on the finish.Smooth for a lighter bodied ale. Moderately carbonated but it lends a soft character and doesn't disrupt the smoothness. This is another good addition to the local cream ale scene. It competes well with the others with an additional twist to make it unique. (715 characters)

It's strange, but I'm actually pretty excited about this one. I love Cream Ales, and wouldn't mind one with a little more of a hop kick. Hop Cream pours out a slightly hazy orange with two fingers of persistent head. The aroma is nice, with grassy and floral hops over the cream ale base. The taste is very good, it's got a nice amount of floral and grassy hop flavors at first, with a light and creamy finish. Basically a tastier riff on the cream ale formula as far as I'm concerned. It's not going to give you the hop flavor that an IPA will, but it's a great amount to still keep the cream ale character in place. The mouthfeel is light and creamy, and the drinkability is great. Overall, this is a superb cream ale. It provides more hop flavor than average, which really makes this a more interesting beer. A great session beer that I'll be sure to revisit next summer if it's still around. (895 characters)

This beer poured out as a clear looking golden yellow color. The head was white and kind of fizzy. The retention and lacing was minimal. The smell of the beer is much hoppier than most Cream Ale's. Given the name of the beer that was the intent. The taste of the beer has a sharp bitterness to it also, not too badly balanced either with the malts. The mouthfeel of the beer is clean, crisp and light bodied. Overall it was a decent beer in my opinion. Glad I tried it. (469 characters)

Hop Cream pours a nice dark copper color, with a nice sized head. There was a wet slightly hoppy smell, and an almost coffee aroma. The taste had a weird floral taste, that was slightly bitter, with a strong malty backbone, and a bit of a sweetness, and a almost farm like yeasty taste. A solid flavor, but I don't know if I would like to drink a few of these. Overall not horrible, but i didn't find it too enjoyable, reminded me of an up class miller. (453 characters)

A- Dark golden. Head is one finger and retains well. Some lacing.S- Smell is mild but is light citrus, some earthyness and biscuity malt.T- The flavor is kinda medicocre. There is a hint of citrus, a bit of noble earthyness and a touch of sweet malt.M- Lower carbonation. Medium-light body. Easy drinking.O- This isn't a bad beer but since they advertised hop I expected more. Not bad, but underwhelming. (408 characters)

12oz, pours golden-copper with a foamy white head that fades to a thin layer atop the ale, leaving some lacing on the glass. Aromas are grassy, herbal, earthy. Tastes are similar to aroma - grassy, herbal hop, biscuit, earthy, fruity, slight peppeyness on the tongue. Mouth-feel is medium, creamy, and smooth. Nice, but still light enough. Finishes slightly dry with some lingering hops that fade to a clean finish. Overall, I wasn't sure what to expect here. It's decent and sessionable, but I'd probably pass on buying it again. (530 characters)

Pours out a golden color with a single finger of foam that lasts for about a minute, but doesn't leave behind any lacing on the glass. Smells and tastes of a light blend of floral and citrus peel hopping over a touch of wheat, honey, and cracker malt. Lighter soft-textured body and crisp solid carbonation levels.

Once again, a capital beer that does just what it says on the label, a cream ale with light hopping. Although if it were up to me, I would have amplified the hopping by about 30%. (525 characters)

A= Pours a totally translucent yellowish amber color. Actually looks quite a bit like a sort of basic lager. Maybe a little darker than piss yellow beer. The head is a finger and falls to a thin skin on top of the glass. Some sketchy lacing but it's there.

S= A solid hop aroma with a sort of wheat in there. I don't know if they used wheat or not. I get a little poopy wheat in it however. There also seems to be some basic malty sweetness.

T= The flavor is interesting. It starts with a smooth hop flavor. Nothing over the top or crazy it's a very mild hop flavor before slowly moving into a sort of nothing taste. After nothing the after taste is a biscuity wheaty flavor. For a moment there I thought it was water.

M= A nice lower carbonation.

O= This is an interesting beer. I actually sort of like it. It's got a little flavor and is super easy to drink. I could see myself picking this up if it were reasonably priced. Mine came in a mix six pack. I may be buying some more of this. (1,015 characters)

as i pour this into a pilsner glass a thick creamy head forms immediately on top of a rising bright golden orange body. thick clumps of lacing are left from top to bottom in the glass. very good looking beer. taste and smell are very floral and hoppy with some bread and cracker in the background. mouthfeel is a little creamy with a nice hop bite to it, clean finish. nice cream ale, will buy more during the hot months. (421 characters)

A sixer that disappeared all too quickly, a couple were shared but this is the last one. Poured into a large tapered mug, it has a frothy head of white foam and a copious amount of drippy lacing. Its body is a bright high clarity orange, a perfect crystalline jewel tone. Lasting head retention.

Citrus rind, light yeast, grapefruit and floral notes in the aroma. Hop forward as the name implies, certainly a welcome addition in a cream ale.

Orange zest, citrus pith, light clean malty notes, crackery and resiny dry finish. Light bodied due to the style, plenty bitter but not a chore to drink like some IPAs (not that style comparisons are necessary). A unique and drinkable cream ale from Capital, nice to see a new seasonal from them. (740 characters)

Appearance: Nice, rich golden color... Barely any head on this brew and dissipates to a small outer lace.

Smell: Not overly aromatic... I pick up some citrus notes from the hops and a pretty profound honey smell. I can definitely smell the lager hidden within this beer.

Taste: Actually the beer itself tastes alright. At the beginning you taste something similar to a standard IPA, but that taste almost immediately goes away. The aftertaste is subpar, no flavors really linger. Pretty bland.

Mouthfeel: A light mouthfeel. Almost a perfect consistency for a hot day, the problem is, it doesn't meld with the flavor.

Overall: This was an interesting concept. I've been on a cream ale kick lately, and I was curious as to what a more pronounced hop profile would do to the beer. The beer underwhelmed overall, but I won't have a problem finishing the six pack.

Edit: I actually found that I really enjoyed this beer from the bottle... I will give it a bump in ratings because initially I thought it was too bland, but after the first one I really enjoyed the rest. (1,068 characters)